I’ve droned on and on about the importance of frequency in public transport services. I recently pondered why Metro don’t promote their every-10-minutes service from Newport via the City to Frankston. Some of the operators do understand that waiting time is critical, and do advertise when they put on extra services, and/or run frequent services. ... [More]
Category: transport
All forms of transport, including gunzelly
Sometimes it seems there are way more trains running in the counter-peak direction than the peak… particularly towards the end of the morning peak, and before the evening peak. This is because there’s little train stabling in the central city area, so most trains have to be sent back to the burbs between the peaks. ... [More]
The first Protective Service Officers started duty tonight at Flinders Street and Southern Cross Stations. They may not be the best solution to public transport security, but I’m sure passengers will welcome them, and wish them luck. Yes, PSOs get less training than police. That’s because they have more restricted powers (limited to railway stations ... [More]
MX got to this before I blogged it. This issue is around Myki Pass (the equivalent fare to a Metcard Monthly/Yearly, but available for any number from 28 to 365 days). To calculate the Pass cost, you take the Myki Pass per day rate (eg zone 1 $4.02) and multiply by the number of days ... [More]
Categories
The Metro emergency gate that wasn’t
I noted this about a month ago. The idea of an emergency gate in the Elizabeth Street subway at Flinders Street Station seemed like a good one, but it seemed doubtful that the automatic release would include the padlock. So I tweeted: Ok. I have my doubts that this emergency exit *padlock* is automatic, @MetroTrains ... [More]
Myki has well-known problems. It’s been an incredibly long saga to get it running, and to the point now where it’s pretty reliable and the government is confident enough to push ahead with phasing-out Metcard. The cost to taxpayers has been huge. Touching on and off can be fiddly, particularly in a crowd and particularly ... [More]
These anonymous flyers appear to have popped up overnight (at least I didn’t spot them yesterday) around Bentleigh station. (Note another similar pink one in the background on the small pole opposite.) I might note that since the 2010 timetable was introduced (and the tweaks in 2011), the morning commute is slower, but I for ... [More]
The debate about train seats has come up again, thanks to The Greens uncovering minutes of a meeting between Metro and the Department of Transport discussing the removal of train seats from Comeng trains. (MX story / Channel 7 story) DOT was generally comfortable with the proposals as presented by MTM. Options to be assessed ... [More]
I didn’t make it to Brickvention this year, but Adrian O’Hagan did, and sent me this photo. It’s a Lego Myki reader… and on the back of it is a Metcard reader. Adrian says when a Myki card was presented it beeped and displayed a balance (which may or may not have been the real ... [More]
I remind any journalists reading that as ever, my personal blog may not represent the PTUA’s views. In the papers today, news of the continuing rollout of Myki, and moves to get more people switching off Metcard: Herald Sun: When it comes to myki, like it or lump it The Age: The end is nigh ... [More]
Proof that you (with the help of a friend, at least) don’t need a car to take a big-screen TV home… at least not since the advent of flatscreens. Panasonic, 50 inch. Appears to have been bought at JB Hifi (which is nearby). Note the lady with her Metcard ready. They caught a 908 bus. ... [More]
I’ve long thought the signage on Comeng and Hitachi trains about walking between the carriages was unclear. Going back a while, they talked about using them for “communication” but not “travel” — confusing to most. Recently they’ve said “Please do not travel on platform between carriages”, which implies people should not use those doors to ... [More]
Categories
Gunzel heaven: Parallel run
If there’s anything that gunzels get excited about, it’s a parallel run — two trains running in parallel. It must take an enormous amount of work to organise such a thing: running two heritage trains on two tracks in the same direction (only possible in specific locations), and having them overtake each other repeatedly so ... [More]
Categories
Hidden meaning in route numbers
There’s hidden meaning in some of Melbourne’s tram and bus route numbers. Below 150 is all trams, for a start. Above is buses. I suspect trams will move to 1 or 2-digit numbers in the next few years, to accomodate the new “a” (altered) and “d” (depot) suffixes in the displays (most of which are ... [More]
Is this Melbourne’s narrowest bike lane? What exactly is the point here? I wonder if it actually offers cyclists any safety if they have to move out into traffic every time there’s a parked car? I’m not sure that it inspires me as a prospective cyclist. Pic from Brewer Road, Bentleigh. I thought Neerim Road ... [More]
What’s the ultimate waste of space in a city centre? Ground level, single level parking. Along with the access space required to get cars in and out, it’s wasted space because apart from perhaps $20-30 per day in revenue, it isn’t used for anything. This post from Gordon Price compares a few cities — the ... [More]